On 8 February , in Solna , Lennart Hyland and Sven Jerring presented the results of the draw where the qualified teams were divided into four groups.

Seeding was geographical rather than by team strength, with each group containing one western European team, one eastern European team, one of the four British teams that had qualified, and one from the Americas.

The format of the competition changed from Two points were awarded for a win and one point for a draw. If the first two teams finished on equal points then goal average would decide who was placed first and second.

As in , if the second and third placed teams finished on the same points, then there would be a play-off with the winner going through.

If a play-off resulted in a draw, goal average from the group games would be used to determine who went through to the next round.

If the goal averages were equal then lots would have been drawn. These arrangements had not been finalised by the time the tournament started and were still being debated as it progressed.

Some teams complained that a play-off match, meaning three games in five days, was too much, and before the second round of group matches FIFA informed the teams that goal average would be used before resorting to a play-off.

This was the first time that goal average was available to separate teams in a World Cup. It was used to separate the teams finishing first and second in one of the groups.

However, all three playoffs finished with decisive results and so it was not needed to separate the teams involved in a tied playoff.

Almost all the matches kicked off simultaneously in each of the three rounds of the group phase, as did the quarter-finals and semi-finals.

The exceptions were Sweden's three group matches, all of which were televised by Sveriges Radio ; these started at other times so Swedes could attend other matches without missing their own team's.

Many Swedes bought their first television for the World Cup. It was chosen from candidates in a blind test by four FIFA officials.

He failed to score, but Brazil won the game 2—0 much thanks to an impressive exhibition of dribbling prowess by his partner Garrincha and the group by two points.

Previously, they had drawn 0—0 with England in what was the first ever goalless game in World Cup history.

Eventually, the Soviet Union and England went to a playoff game, in which Anatoli Ilyin scored in the 67th minute to knock England out, while Austria had already been eliminated.

The English side had been weakened by the Munich air disaster earlier in the year, which killed three internationals on the books of Manchester United , including England's young star Duncan Edwards.

Playoffs were also needed in Group 1 Northern Ireland beat Czechoslovakia to join the defending champions West Germany in the quarter-finals and Group 3 Wales topped Hungary to advance with hosts Sweden.

Hungary had become a spent force after their appearance in the final of the previous tournament. They had lost their best players two years before, when they fled in the wake of the failed uprising against the communist regime.

France topped the group, with Just Fontaine netting six goals. Yugoslavia finished second, while Scotland came in last.

The quarter-finals saw France's Just Fontaine continue in similar form as in the group stage, managing another two goals as France triumphed over Northern Ireland.

In the semi-finals, Sweden continued their strong run as they defeated West Germany 3—1 in a vicious game that saw the German player Erich Juskowiak sent off the first ever German player to be sent off in an international game and German veteran forward Fritz Walter injured, which further weakened the German team substitutes were first allowed in the FIFA World Cup.

In the other semi-final, Brazil and France were tied for much of the first half. Fontaine of France added one goal to his impressive tally. The third place match saw Fontaine score four more goals as France defeated West Germany 6—3.

This brought his total to 13 goals in one competition, a record that still stands. Zagallo added a goal in between, and Sweden managed a consolation goal.

The Final saw many records made in World Cup history that still stand as of This final had the highest number of goals scored by a winning team 5 , the highest number of total goals scored 7 , and together with the and finals shares the highest goal margin of difference 3 ; Brazil played in all those three finals.

With the exception of the FIFA World Cup final group stage, this marked the first time that a World Cup host reached the final without winning it.

Additionally, the match marked the first time two nations from different continents Europe and South America met in a World Cup final.

It also marks the first and only World Cup hosted in Europe not won by a European team; a feat mirrored in where a World Cup hosted in the Americas was not won by a team from the Americas for the first time, with Germany beating Argentina at the final.

A total of twelve cities throughout the central and southern parts of Sweden hosted the tournament. FIFA regulations required at least six stadiums to have a capacity of at least 20, The Rasunda Stadium was expanded from 38, for the World Cup by building end stands.

The Social Democratic municipal government refused to pay for this until the organisers threatened to select Folkungavallen in Linköping instead.

The crowd at Brazil v. Austria was estimated at 21,, with more looking in from the adjoining hillside. The geographical basis of the seeding attracted criticism, especially from Austria, who were drawn against the teams considered strongest in each of the other three pots.

The team of the tournament voted by journalists was as follows: Although Just Fontaine got more votes than any other forward, they were split between the left and right inside forward positions.

The West Germans, surprise world champions four years before, were still very strong, and fielded an exciting young forward in Uwe Seeler.

But this time the Germans had to contend with a real powerhouse in Argentina's team, competing for the first time since In fact, some experts [ who?

Czechoslovakia was a fairly strong team with a rich football tradition, and was considered to be no walk-over for the West Germans or the Argentinians, but nobody expected much from tiny newcomers Northern Ireland.

But the Northern Irish had already shown that they could be a danger to anyone, by knocking out double world champions Italy in the qualifying tournament for the World Cup.

In the end, the Northern Irish did pull off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup Finals history by qualifying for the quarter-finals, beating Czechoslovakia in a play-off.

Just Fontaine of France scored 6 of his 13 goals in the tournament, making him the tournament's top scorer going into the quarter-finals.

Ytterligare information och kontaktuppgifter. Kontakta oss Svenska Fotbollförbundet. With the exception of the FIFA World Cup final group stage, this marked the first time that a World Cup host reached the final without winning it.

Additionally, the match marked the first time two nations from different continents Europe and South America met in a World Cup final. It also marks the first and only World Cup hosted in Europe not won by a European team; a feat mirrored in where a World Cup hosted in the Americas was not won by a team from the Americas for the first time, with Germany beating Argentina at the final.

A total of twelve cities throughout the central and southern parts of Sweden hosted the tournament. FIFA regulations required at least six stadiums to have a capacity of at least 20, The Rasunda Stadium was expanded from 38, for the World Cup by building end stands.

The Social Democratic municipal government refused to pay for this until the organisers threatened to select Folkungavallen in Linköping instead.

The crowd at Brazil v. Austria was estimated at 21,, with more looking in from the adjoining hillside. The geographical basis of the seeding attracted criticism, especially from Austria, who were drawn against the teams considered strongest in each of the other three pots.

The team of the tournament voted by journalists was as follows: Although Just Fontaine got more votes than any other forward, they were split between the left and right inside forward positions.

The West Germans, surprise world champions four years before, were still very strong, and fielded an exciting young forward in Uwe Seeler.

But this time the Germans had to contend with a real powerhouse in Argentina's team, competing for the first time since In fact, some experts [ who?

Czechoslovakia was a fairly strong team with a rich football tradition, and was considered to be no walk-over for the West Germans or the Argentinians, but nobody expected much from tiny newcomers Northern Ireland.

But the Northern Irish had already shown that they could be a danger to anyone, by knocking out double world champions Italy in the qualifying tournament for the World Cup.

In the end, the Northern Irish did pull off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup Finals history by qualifying for the quarter-finals, beating Czechoslovakia in a play-off.

Just Fontaine of France scored 6 of his 13 goals in the tournament, making him the tournament's top scorer going into the quarter-finals.

None of the teams in this group had been particularly successful at previous World Cups. France, despite having hosted the event , had not achieved any real World Cup success, Yugoslavia had not been able to replicate their semi-final success of and Paraguay and Scotland were considered underdogs during the tournament.

The Swedish hosts could count themselves lucky in ending up in a rather weak group which they proceeded to win fairly easily with their powerful workmanlike football.

The group included Hungary which had been considered by far the best team in the world some years ago — although the Hungarians could not beat West Germany in the final of the World Cup in In spite of Hungary's recent travails, they were still considered a strong side and everyone expected the Hungarian players to advance from their group.

The success of Wales therefore was a great surprise but the Welsh managed to draw all the group games and then beat the once-mighty Hungarians in a play-off match to decide which nation should follow Sweden into the knock-out stage.

Had goal difference been the decider, Hungary would have gone through as the Hungarians had a goal ratio of 6—3 compared to 2—2 of Wales.

The match between Hungary and Wales in Sandviken became the northern-most World Cup match in history. Notwithstanding the disappointments of the previous tournaments, Brazil were considered extremely powerful, as would indeed prove to be the case.

The Soviet Union were the reigning Olympic champion and Austria had won the bronze medal in the World Cup in Switzerland, four years earlier.

And although England, weakened by the loss of several players at the Munich air disaster , were not considered at their very best, they were still always a formidable team.

In the end, this group had the highest average attendance, even higher than Group 3 with the host nation, Sweden. The quality of the football in this group did not quite live up to expectations, however.

Only 15 goals were scored in the whole group, fewer than in any of the other groups. And when England and Brazil drew 0—0, it was the first time in World Cup history that a game ended with no goals.

Brazil won the group without conceding a single goal. He did not score but drew wild reviews for his play. The Soviet Union, in their first World Cup, took second place.

With 13 goals, Just Fontaine was the top scorer in the tournament. In total, goals were scored by 60 players, with none of them credited as own goal.

In , FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including , based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition.